Machine for removing the silk from green corn.



PATENTBD NOV. 1 0, 1903.

J. G. MOINTYRE- MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SILK FROM'GBEBN CORN.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. 1903.

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J. c. MOINTYRE. MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SILKPROM GREEN CORN.

APPLICATION FILED THE; 9. 1903.

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5. 0; MGI'NTYRE. 1 I MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SILK FROM Gammon.

APPLIOATIOF PILED FEB. 9. 1903.

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No. 743,655.- PATENTED NOV. 10, 1903.

. J 0'. MGINTYRE. r MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE SILK PROM GREEN 001m.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. 1903.

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PATENT Iatented November 10, 1903.

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JOHN G. MCINTYRE, OF I IOOPESTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SPRAGUE CANNINGMACHINERY OOMPANY,'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR REMOVING 'ILHE'ISILQK FROM GREEN CORN.

SPECIFICATION forming part cf Letters Patent No. 743,655,

dated November 10, 1903.

Application filed February 9, 1903. Serial lilo. 142.522. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known thatLJoHN C.MCINTYRE,a citizen of the United States,residing at Hoopeston, in the county of Vermilion and State of Illinois,have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Removing Silkfrom Green Corn, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates more particularly to that type of machines forremoving therrsilk from ears of green corn before cutting off thekernels in which the hushed earsof green cornare supported and turnedabout their axes on rollers beneath rotary brushes which remove the silkfrom the ears and propel the latter through the machine by thefrictional contact of the brushes with the ears of corn.

The object of the invention is to provide a rapid and efficient machineof large capacity to which the ears ofcorn can be suppliedindiscriminately in large quantities and which will remove the silk froma number of cars simultaneously.

A further object is to produce a machine which will thoroughly andperfectly remove all the silk from the ears without injuring or breakingthe kernels of corn.

In theaccompanying drawings, consisting of four sheets, Figure 1 is aside elevation, on a reduced scale, of a machine embodying theinvention. Fig. 2 is a broken side elevation thereof, the View beingtaken from the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a brokenplan View thereof. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation throughthe feedhopper. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the tail or discharge end ofthe machine. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing therotary retarding device. Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation showing one ofthe bearing-arms for the silking-b'rushes. Fig. 8 is a fragmentaryelevation of a portion of the feed hopper, showing one of the adjustablejournals for the shaft of the retarding device. Fig. 9 is a detail planview of the operating mechanisin for the reciprocating separator.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The machine shown in the drawings and hereinafter specifically describedcomprises, brietly stated, a feed hopper or box arranged thesupporting-rollers.

I at the forward end of the machine and provided with a bottom which isdivided into a series of longitudinal troughs or channels in whichtravel conveyors which carry the ears of corn through said channels ontoa series of rollers arranged lengthwise of the machine in rear of thehopper. The rollers are all rotate-d in the same direction and act tosupport the ears of corn and turn the same about their axis. Above therollers is arranged a series of transverse rotary brushes which removethe silk from the ears of corn and which are driven in a-direction suchthat they propel or move the ears of corn rearwardly on The ears of cornare discharged from the rear ends of the rollers after passing theseveral silking-brushes.

The main or supporting frame of the machine may be of any suitable orpreferred construction.- That shown in the drawings is of substantiallyrectangular form consisting of longitudinal side rails or bars A,connected by transverse rails or bars B and having upright supportinglegs or standards C, which are suitably braced.

D represents the feed-hopper, which is provided with upright front andside walls and is supported at its rear end in any suitable manner onthe front end of the main frame, the front end of the feed-hopper beingpreferably supported by legs d. The bottom of the feed-hopper (see Fig.4) is composed of a series of longitudinal trough-shaped or channelplates or bars E, which are arranged parallel and are supported at theiropposite ends on the transverse horizontal bars of the main frame. Thechannel-bars are connected and the spaces between them covered bysubstantially inverted-V-shaped plates e, and the spaces between the twooutside channel-bars F represents a serles of rollers which are arrangedin a substantially horizontal plane longitudinally of the machine andparallel with each other in rear of the feed-hopper. The rollers arejournaled in any suitable manner at theirfront and rear ends in bearingson the transverse frame-bars. The rolland the sides of the feed-hopperare covered by inclined plates 6.

ers are arranged in'vertical planes between the troughs or channels ofthe feed-hopper,

so that the spaces between the upper portions of adjacent rollersconstitute, in efiect, continuations of said troughs or channels. Thefront ends of the rollers F are beveled at f, Figs. 2 and 6, so that theears of corn can pass readily from the troughs or channels into thespaces between the rollers. In the bottoms of the channels or troughsthus formed by the channel-bars and rollers travel endless conveyerchains or belts G, which run on sprocket-wheels g g secured,respectively, to shafts H H, journaled transversely of the machine atthe front and rear ends thereof. The shaft H, which constitutes the mainor drive shaft, maybe driven in any suitable manner and in theconstruction shown is provided at one end with tight and loosedrive-pulleys h h. The upper runs of the conVeyer-chains travelrearwardly in the troughs or channels of the feed-hopper and aresupported horizontally or prevented from sagging between the rollers Fin any suitable manner-for instance, by channel bars or guides t', Fig.6, which are arranged between the rollers and are supported at theiropposite ends on the transverse bars of the main frame. Theconveyer-chains are provided with projecting teeth or lugs, which on theupper runs of the chains project upwardly into the troughs of thefeed-hopperand spaces between the rollers F.

The rollers are all rotated in one direction, so that the ears of cornwhich are supported on the upper portions of the surfaces of adjacentrollers are turned or rotated axially and there is no tendency for therollers to grip or pinch the ears and carry the same down between therollers and crush the corn.

The mechanism shown in drawings Figs. 2, 3, and 5 for driving thesupporting-rollers is constructed as follows: K represents abrush-operating shaft, which is arranged longitudinally at one side ofthe machine and is journaled in bearings in suitable brackets k,projecting from the adjacent side rail of the main frame. This shaft isdriven from the drive-shaft by intermeshing bevel gearwheels 7c7c fixed,respectively, to the driveshaft and longitudinal shaft K. Thebrushoperating shaft K is provided with a sprocketwheel which drives asprocket-chain 10 running thereon and on a sprocket-wheel 70, secured tothe rear end of the adjacent outside roller. The sprocket-chain alsopasses over an idle sprocket-wheel 10 which isjournaled on the mainframe below the end of the outside roller. This wheel is for the purposeof guiding the sprocket-chain around the bearing-bracket or side bar ofthe frame. The outside roller is thus rotated, and the adjacent half ofthe rollers are driven in the satnedirection from the outside roller bygearwheels k secured to the rear ends of the rollers and meshing withidle gear-wheels k journaled on the rear end of the main frame betweenthe gear-wheels on the rollers. K represents a short shaft which isarranged longitudinally at the opposite side of the machine inabearing-bracket is", projecting from the main frame. This shaft isdriven from the drive-shaft by intermeshing gear-wheels and drives theadjacent outside roller through the medium of a sprocket chain 70 andsprocket-wheels arranged similarly to the corresponding parts for theother outside roller. The remaining rollers are driven in the samedirection as the other rollers from the lastmentioned outside roller byintertneshing gearwheels on the rollers and idle gearwheels journaled onthe main frame, as in the case of the other half of the rollers. Thisdrive mechanism is deemed desirable, as the strain is divided betweenthe shafts at opposite sides of the machine and there is less lostmotion. Any other suitable drive mechanism for the rollers, however, maybe employed.

L represents brushes for removing the silk froth the ears of corn. Thereare a number of these brushes, which are arranged transversely of themachine above and out of contact with the supporting and turning rollersfor the ears of corn. The brushes may be constructed in any suitablemanner and" of any material which will properly remove the silk from thecorn without marring or harming the kernels. The brushes are preferablyjournaled in the following manner: Z represents swinging bearing-armsfor the opposite ends of the brushes. The bearing-arms are mounted toswing vertically on short transverse horizontal shafts Z', supported insuitable bearing-brackets at opposite sides of the main frame, the shortshafts Z at the side of the machine adjacent to the brush-operatin-gshaft K being journaled to rotatein bearings on the brackets 70 for thebrush-operating shaft. The bearing-arms are provided at their upper endswith swiveled yokes 1*, in which are pivoted bearing-blocks Z for thejournals '6, which project from opposite ends of the brushes. Thebearing-blocks for the brush-journals are swiveled in the yokes-onscrews or pins Z arranged transversely or at right angles to the axis ofthe bearing-arms, so that each brush is journaled in universally-movablehearings on the swinging bearing-arms and is free to accommodate itselfto the dilferent sizes of the ears of corn on the rollers beneath thebrush without cramping or binding the brush-journals in their bearings.Thus if a large ear of corn is beneath the brush at one end and smallercars at the other end the brush can tilt, so that it bears withsubstantially the same pressure on all of the ears of corn. Each of thebearingarms for the silking-brushes is provided at its lower end with acounterbalancing-weight M, which is adjustably mounted on a rodprojecting from the lower end of the bearingarm. The bearing-arm is alsoprovided with a lug m, Fig. 7, which projects beneath a stop screw m,screwed into an overhanging portion of the bearing-bracket for the shaft1.

By adjusting the weight toward or from the pivot of the bearing-arm thepressure of the brush on the ears of corn can be nicely regulated, andthe stop-screw affords an adjustable device for limiting the downwardmovement of the brush. The shafts l at the side of the machine at which.the brush-operating shaf t K is located are driven from said shaft K byintermeshing bevel gear-wheels 'n n" on the brush-operating shaft andthe short shafts Z. The latter are provided with sprocketwheels n whichare connected by sprocketchainsn with sprocket-wheels n on thebrushjournals at the adjacent ends of the brushes. Both journals of eachsilking-brush are preferably provided with sprocket-wheels, so that if abrush wears unevenly it can be reversed end for end in its bearings andbe driven from the brush-operating shaft.

0 represents troughs or shields for catching the silk which is removedfrom the ears of corn by the silking-brushes. One of these shields isarranged above each of the silking brushes and is supported at itsopposite ends by legs 0', which are loosely connected to the upper endsof the bearing-arms of the brushes. The shields thus move with thebrushes in their adjustment and in their movements to accommodatethemselves to the ears of corn. Each of the shields is provided with arearwardlyprojecting curved bottom, which is substantially concentricwith the brush and is spaced slightly from the periphery of the latter,so that in the rotation of the brush the silk which is carried up withthe brush is thrown by centrifugal force over the bottom of the shieldinto the same.

As the ears of corn are placed in the feedhopper in large quantities orin bulk, it is necessary to prevent a plurality of cars of corn frombeing carried by each conveyerchain to the silking-brushes. For thispurpose a rotary retarding device is provided, comprising a transversehorizontal shaft P, which is journaled in the rear end of the hopper-insuitable adjustable bearings 13 at the sides of the latter and isprovided with a number of spiders or arms projectingradially from theshaft. These arms in the rotation of the shaft extend down into thetroughs or channels of the feed-hopper sufficiently far to strike earsof corn which may be supported by an ear or ears in the bottom of thetroughs or channel. The shaft is driven so that the arms move forwardlyon the lower side of the shaft and tend to strike and kick or hold thesuperposed ears of corn back while the lowermost ears in the bottoms ofthe channels are carried forward to the brushes by the conveyer-chains.The arms or spiders are preferably provided at their ends with covers orshields p, of soft or yielding material, which prevent the arms frommarring or breaking the kernels of corn. The retarder-shaft is driven inany suitable manner-for instance, by means of a sprocketchaiup whichruns on sprccketwheels p and 19 secured, respectively, to the shaft ofthe retarding device and the shaft at the front end of the machine forthe conveyor-chains. Besides the retarding device just described atransversely-reciprocating device is provided for aiding in preventingthe ears of own from piling in the troughs and also for turning the earsof corn into a position longitudinally with respect to the machine, sothat they can enter the longitudinal troughs of the feed-hopper. Thisdevice consists of a transverse horizontal rodQ, whichis mounted toslide in hearings on the sides of the hopper'and is provided with aseries of depending fingers g, the lower ends of which are slightlyabove the upper edges of the bars or plates covering the spaces betweenthe troughs or channels of the feed-hopper. The bar is reciprocatedtransversely of the machine, and its fingers strike the ears of cornwhich are above the tops of the cover-plates between the troughs andturn or move the cars, so that they can drop into the troughs. The

bar Q is reciprocated by any suitable means.

The mechanism shown in the drawings, Figs. 2 and 9, for this purposeconsists of a bellcrank lever B, which is pivoted on the side of thefeed-hopper and is connected to the adjacent end of the reciprocatingseparatorbar. The other end of the bell-crank lever is connected bylinks g g with a crank-pin on a wheel secured to the rotary shaft of theretarding device.

S, Figs. 2 and 5, represents longitudinal guard strips or rails whichare supported. ad-

jacent to and above the outside suppor'tingrollers and serve to preventthe corn from falling 0d of the outside rollers.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The shucked ears of greencorn are placed in the feed-hopper in quantity or in bulk without regardto the relative arrangement of the ears, and the lowermost ears dropinto the troughs or channels of the feed-hopper. The ears which extendcrosswise of the troughs or channels are turned or worked around to aposition lengthwise of the channels by the reciprocating device Q andthe rotary retarding device. The teeth on the conveyer-chains engage thecars which fall into the troughs and carry the same rearwardly onto thesupporting-rollers. The ears which rest on the lowermost ears in thetroughs are held or knocked back by the rotary retarding device P, andonly the lowermost ears pass to the rollers. The supporting-rollers turnthe ears of corn about their axes to present all portions of the ears tothe silking-brushes, which remove the silk thoroughly from the ears. Theteeth on the feed-chains are spaced quite'far apart to lessen theliability of marring the corn and are not relied upon to conveythenormatsized ears over the rollers, the rearward movement of the earsbeing accom plished by the rotating silking-brushes. The ears which aretoo small in diameter for the brushes to exert sufficient pressurethereon to propel them rearwardly over the rollers are carried along bythe conveyer-teeth. The ears after the silk has been removed therefromfall off the tail end of the rollers, and a suitable receptacle may beprovided, if desired, to receive the ears.

I claim as my invention-- 1. The combination of a feed-hopper, the lowerportion of which is divided into a plurality of longitudinal channels,rollers arranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between saidchannels, means for operating said rollers to turn the ears of corn,conveyers which travel in said channels for conveying the ears of cornto said rollers, a silkingbrush arranged transversely over said rollers,means for operating said brush, and a device arranged in advance of saidbrush for preventing superposed ears of corn from being conveyed to saidbrush by said conveyers, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a feed-hopper, the lower portion of which isdivided into a plu rality of longitudinal channels, rotary rollersarranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between said channels,conveyers which travel in said channels for conveying the corn to saidrollers, silking brushes arranged transversely over said rollers, meansfor opera-ting said brushes, and a device arranged in advance of saidbrushes for preventing superposed ears of corn from being carried to thebrushes by said conveyers, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a feed-hopper, the lower portion of which isdivided into a plurality of longitudinal channels, rotary rollersarranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between said channels,conveyers which travel in said channels for conveying the corn to saidrollers, silking-brushes arranged transversely over said rollers, meansfor operating said brushes, and a rotary device arranged in advance ofsaid brushes for preventing superposed ears of corn from being carriedto the brushes by said conveyers, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of a feed hopper, the lower portion of which isdivided into a plurality of longitudinal channels, rotary rollersarranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between said channels,conveyers which travel in said channels for conveying the corn to saidrollers, silking-brushes arranged transversely over said. rollers, meansfor operating said brushes, and a rotary shaft extending across saidfeed-hopper in advance of said brushes and provided with radial armswhich are adapted to extend into the upper portions of said channels,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a feed-hopper, the lower portion of which isdivided into a plurality of longitudinal channels, rotary rollersarranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between said channels,convey ers which travel in said channels for conveying the corn to saidrollers, silking-brushes arranged transversely over said rollers, meansfor operating said brushes, and a rotary shaft extending across saidfeed-hopper in advance of said brushes and provided with radial armswhich are adapted to extend into the upper portions of said channelsnear the side walls thereof, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of a feed-hopper, the lower portion of which isdivided into a plurality of longitudinal channels, rotary rollersarranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between said channels,conveyers which travel in said channels for conveying the corn to saidrollers, silking-brushes arranged transversely over said rollers, meansfor operating said brushes, and a reciprocating device arranged in saidhopper for moving the ears of corn into said channels, substantially asset forth.

7. The combination of a feed-hopper, the lower portion of which isdivided into a plurality of longitudinal channels, rotary rollersarranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between said channels,conveyers which travel in said channels for conveying the corn to saidrollers, silking-brushes arranged transversely over said rollers, meansfor operating said brushes, a rod arranged transversely in said hopperand provided with depending fingers terminating above said channels, andmeans for reciprocating said rod transversely, substantially as setforth.

8. The combination of a feed-hopper, the lower portion of. which isdivided into a plurality of longitudinal channels, rotary rollersarranged longitudinally in rear of the spaces between said channels,conveyers which travel in said channels for conveying the corn to saidrollers, silkingbrushes arranged transversely over said rollers, meansfor operating said brushes, a transversely-reciprocating device in saidhopper for moving the cars into said channels, and a rotary device forpreventing superposed ears of corn from being carried to the brushes bysaid conveyers, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of substantially horizontal rollers for supportingand revolving the ears of corn, a rotary silking-brush arrangedtransversely above said rollers and provided at its opposite ends withjournals, and universally-movable bearings in which said journals aremounted, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination of substantially horizontal rotary rollers forsupporting and revolving the ears of corn, a rotary silkingbrusharranged transversely above said rollers and provided at its oppositeends with journals, swinging bearing-arms-at the opposite ends of thebrush, and bearings for said journals swiveled on said swinging arms,substantially as set forth.

11. The combination of substantially horizontal rotary rollers forsupporting and revolving the ears of corn, a rotary silking- ICC IIO

brush arranged transversely above said rollers and provided at itsopposite ends with ournals, swinging bearing-arms at the opposite endsof the brush, bearings for said journals swiveled on said swinging arms,counterbalancing-weights connected to said swinging arms, and stops forlimiting the movement of the brush, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination of substantially horizontal rotary rollers forsupporting and revolving the ears of corn, a rotary silkingbrusharranged transversely above said rollers and provided at its oppositeends with journals, swinging bearing-arms at the opposite ends of thebrush, bearings for said journals swiveled on said swinging arms, anddriving connections for said brushes movable with said swinging arms,substantially as set forth.

13. The combination of substantially horizontal rollers for supportingand revolving the ears of corn, a rotary silking-brush arrangedtransversely above said rollers and provided at its ends with journals,swinging arms at the opposite ends of said brush provided with bearingsfor said journals, a support for one of said swinging arms, a shaft onwhich the other swinging arm is pivoted,

means for driving said shaft, and connections between said shaft and theadjacent journal of the brush for rotating the latter, substantially asset forth.

14. The combination of means supporting and turning the ears of corn, arotary silkingbrush arranged above said support, and a trough forreceiving the silk from the brush and arranged with one side inproximity to the periphery of the brush, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination of means for supporting and turning the ears ofcorn, a rotary silking-brnsh arranged above said support, anda' troughfor receiving the silk from the brush and arranged above the brush andprovided with a curved side in proximity to the periphcry of the brush,substantially as set forth.

16. The combination of means for supporting the ears of corn, a rotarysilking-brush arranged above said support, movable bearings for saidbrush, and a trough for receiving the silk from the brush and which ismovable with said brush and bearings, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 19th day of January,

JOHN C. MCINTYRE.

Witnesses:

M. J. HAWKINS, P. D. HART.

